The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

This morning around 8:15 at V. Richards in Forest Park. I've seen him here many times in the past so I assume he lives in Forest Park. He was sporting sweat pants, flip flops, and a long sleeve UAB sweat shirt. Sure looked like a guy on paid leave. Also, one of you may be able to confirm if he has had this, he drove off in what looked like a brand new black Infiniti QX56 SUV. I would have snapped a pic but I'm not a POS.

Shaved buzz cut as well. Witness protection I suppose.

(12-11-2014 09:37 AM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  This morning around 8:15 at V. Richards in Forest Park. I've seen him here many times in the past so I assume he lives in Forest Park. He was sporting sweat pants, flip flops, and a long sleeve UAB sweat shirt. Sure looked like a guy on paid leave. Also, one of you may be able to confirm if he has had this, he drove off in what looked like a brand new black Infiniti QX56 SUV. I would have snapped a pic but I'm not a POS.

Shaved buzz cut as well. Witness protection I suppose.

He had the Infiniti SUV at Murfreesboro for the MTSU game. He was parking it in the lot right next to the stadium as I was walking back from greeting the football players bus. Talked to Brad Hardekopf a few minutes about the construction of their stadium and how that would look nice on the South side and would be easily expandable in the future.

He has had that SUV.

(12-11-2014 09:37 AM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  This morning around 8:15 at V. Richards in Forest Park. I've seen him here many times in the past so I assume he lives in Forest Park. He was sporting sweat pants, flip flops, and a long sleeve UAB sweat shirt. Sure looked like a guy on paid leave. Also, one of you may be able to confirm if he has had this, he drove off in what looked like a brand new black Infiniti QX56 SUV. I would have snapped a pic but I'm not a POS.

Shaved buzz cut as well. Witness protection I suppose.

First thing...What is this post supposed to do/say? IMHO your play by play of Brian's movement and clothes is creepy.

And FYI...He does live in Forest Park and the SUV has been his car for a few years, so it's not new.

He shaved his head? What a dope.

Outside of saying I think I saw Brian Mackin today at the park, that should have been all we needed to know.

It is possible he was made out to be the scape goat in this.

He quit his job over this decision, he did what everyone wanted him to do: fell on his sword. In the end he wasn't as powerful as a dog track owner from Tuscaloosa, I'm shocked. Everyone should lay off the guy already

(12-11-2014 10:14 AM)blazerball25 Wrote:  He shaved his head? What a dope.

"And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth."

Isaiah 22:12

Was he wearing sackcloth?

Given the fact Mackin had a special position made for him directly under President Watts, we need Mackin to talk. Other than an investigative body how can we get him to spill it?

(12-11-2014 10:28 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  He quit his job over this decision, he did what everyone wanted him to do: fell on his sword. In the end he wasn't as powerful as a dog track owner from Tuscaloosa, I'm shocked. Everyone should lay off the guy already

Quit his job and got a raise? Sign me up for that deal too!!

I won't berate the guy. We only have a small part of this story.

Watson was made the scapegoat in 2006, and I don't beleive that was fair.

(12-11-2014 10:25 AM)the_blazerman Wrote:  Outside of saying I think I saw Brian Mackin today at the park, that should have been all we needed to know.

It is highly probable he was made out to be the scape goat in this.

FIFY

(12-11-2014 10:28 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  He quit his job over this decision, he did what everyone wanted him to do: fell on his sword. In the end he wasn't as powerful as a dog track owner from Tuscaloosa, I'm shocked. Everyone should lay off the guy already

This was not falling on the sword.

Falling on your sword isn't throwing out lines attributed to him, and accepting a special position. People I respect here are saying that he tried, and that's cool. I appreciate that much, but I'm saying that all I heard about is something about it being tough times for a blazer and that it did all he could do. I don't see him getting on ESPN like donors and saying that they weren't contacted. I don't see him addressing publicly people like the FAR and saying that he was left out of the process.

I trust you guys. I swear I do, but I can't lay off him. I can't give him a pass because we just lost teams. He was the Athletic Director. He's not Dr. Watts or Bryant Jr., but he was there. He did some good. I know that, but we just lost the football team. That, by itself, overcomes any amount of goodwill he generated with me.

I imagine he's a full time couch potato now, eating Cheetos and drinking beer while laughing at reruns of the Simpsons.

His position involves finding somewhere for the guys on the team to land. That ain't eating cheetos.

Mackin played his cards very close to his chest. We've seen what happens when you don't, right here on this board. We'd talk about things and they would be countered before we could act. It's one of the mistakes we made during the OCS fight.

We've been a little smarter this time around, more cautious with information, waiting till the last minute to put some things out there. You can bet that the administration has people reading this board and the facebook group and reporting back to Gestapo headquarters on 20th.

There's not a damn soul posting on the board who really knows what Mackin knew or when, or what he did, or tried to do and was shut down. I've said some very harsh things about him, but those are still the facts. I agree that it is hard to believe that he didn't know or at least have a good idea what was happening. I agree that he should have spoken out, that he knows where a lot of bodies are buried regarding events surrounding athletics.

I'm still not convinced that he was waving a knife around and helping kill athletics. He, better than probably anyone else, would know how much damage closing football would do to UAB Athletics as a whole.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

(12-11-2014 11:21 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  His position involves finding somewhere for the guys on the team to land. That ain't eating cheetos.

Mackin played his cards very close to his chest. We've seen what happens when you don't, right here on this board. We'd talk about things and they would be countered before we could act. It's one of the mistakes we made during the OCS fight.

We've been a little smarter this time around, more cautious with information, waiting till the last minute to put some things out there. You can bet that the administration has people reading this board and the facebook group and reporting back to Gestapo headquarters on 20th.

There's not a damn soul posting on the board who really knows what Mackin knew or when, or what he did, or tried to do and was shut down. I've said some very harsh things about him, but those are still the facts. I agree that it is hard to believe that he didn't know or at least have a good idea what was happening. I agree that he should have spoken out, that he knows where a lot of bodies are buried regarding events surrounding athletics.

I'm still not convinced that he was waving a knife around and helping kill athletics. He, better than probably anyone else, would know how much damage closing football would do to UAB Athletics as a whole.

UABBD, what the heck are you doing? The last thing we need around here is a well reasoned post. If you keep this crap up, I'll never get any money out of my pitch fork and torch rental business.

See those three little medals under my name? Back when Attala still did the year end Blazertalk Awards (ahem, Paul), I won the "Voice of Reason" award three years running.

Besides, I'd rather lay it out there right and let people think about it than play Ray Watts and run on bullturd reasoning. It's kinda who I am.

(12-11-2014 11:21 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  His position involves finding somewhere for the guys on the team to land. That ain't eating cheetos.

Mackin played his cards very close to his chest. We've seen what happens when you don't, right here on this board. We'd talk about things and they would be countered before we could act. It's one of the mistakes we made during the OCS fight.

We've been a little smarter this time around, more cautious with information, waiting till the last minute to put some things out there. You can bet that the administration has people reading this board and the facebook group and reporting back to Gestapo headquarters on 20th.

There's not a damn soul posting on the board who really knows what Mackin knew or when, or what he did, or tried to do and was shut down. I've said some very harsh things about him, but those are still the facts. I agree that it is hard to believe that he didn't know or at least have a good idea what was happening. I agree that he should have spoken out, that he knows where a lot of bodies are buried regarding events surrounding athletics.

I'm still not convinced that he was waving a knife around and helping kill athletics. He, better than probably anyone else, would know how much damage closing football would do to UAB Athletics as a whole.

Yep. I'm sure he tried the best he could do, that's what he told Dr. Messina. The train was coming down the tracks, and he couldn't stop it. Sure he could have gotten on TV and made a lot of noise, but what would that have accomplished? Probably nothing. People with inside information got on TV and in the newspaper and jumped up and down and it didn't prevent the decision from being made. One more wouldn't have mattered.

And yes, he fell on his sword. Dr. Watts said specifically at the press conference that Mackin didn't like the decision and that he did not want to be AD of a non-football playing UAB. Even though he's got this supposedly cushy job of special assistant, it has been publicly stated by UAB that Mackin is actively searching for employment outside of UAB, and that the special assistant job is temporary.

I guess it would have made everyone feel better if he had quit immediately and then not been able to feed his family? I don't know, I feel bad for the guy. He was on the inside of a ****** situation, did what he could, and everyone dumped on him. Stalking him on the streets and reporting on him like he's Saddam Hussein is probably not helpful to anyone.